The Epson Waltz - Part Four

When I bought My Epson V-700 it came with 5 film holders to allow me to scan 35mm to 8 x 10 material. I still have all five. But you need to be careful using them - they are complex parts made of black plastic. The design is carefully made to position the negative or slide at a specified distance from the glass of the flat scanner bed. When I finally break them it will be the second-hand market or specialist part suppliers that rescue me. For now, the main points of Epson scanning are: a. Select the correct mode for your work. Mine's " Home " but there are " Automatic ", " Office ", and " Professional " choices as well. The last-named is complex and can lead you into long scanning times. Beware ambition. b. With your mode, set the parameters of the scanner to match your film stocks. I need to tell the scanner that I'm using 6 x 9 negs when changing from 6 x 6 - then it spaces them out correctly. c. You need to put your film in the proper way. There is a reminder diagram on the holders, but it's generally emulsion side up. d. You may need to fiddle with the 120 film to get it to clip in flat to the holder. Persevere. 4 x 5 sheets go flat every time. e.The glass plate needs to be cleaned and dusted regularly. The negatives need to be as dust-free as you can manage. Do not scan in the middle of a paddock at seeding time. f. Before you scan the control panel will ask what type of film it's looking at, whether you want colour, grayscale, or pure black and white. It will want to know the resolution you want, and the shape of the output. It may want to debate gamma or other technical questions, or just provide a best-case setting itself. g. There is a brightness and contrast control, but its sort of crude - do your fine tuning later in Photoshop - just get into the ball park to start with. h. There is a " colour restoration " box you can tick. It sometimes makes things look better, and sometimes worse - try it anyway and suit yourself. i. It is slow-ish. And noisy-ish. Get a book and a cup of tea and shuttle between the scanner and the reading. You will eventually be rewarded with scans that are the best result you'll get. The time taken to get a good result out of the slot might even be comparable with the time you'd spend fighting your way through reversals and corrections. j. There will be dust spots on your images. 'Cause you let dust get on the negs. Start spotting, brother.